Working with translators

- Before we start talking aboutworking with translators,I'd like to talk about what translators actually do.A common misconception is that translators arejust the same as interpreters.People see interpreters both in real life and on TVfar more often than they meet or see translators.If that's the only exposure you haveto what a translator is,you'll soon find that it's quite a different experienceworking with translators.While interpreters do translate,the purpose of their job is to facilitatelive communication between peoplewho speak different languages.

Their concern is that both partieshave a shared understandingand are able to communicate effectivelyback and forth in real time.Translators, though, are preparing materialsahead of time and that means that theyhave the time to provide a translationthat is not only accurate but hopefullynatural sounding and even eloquent as well.Translators have to look at a numberof different factors.Firstly, there's Meaning.

The meaning is definitely the most important aspect.This is the accuracy I was just mentioning.Meaning has to be maintainedbut in most cases, different translationsare possible and just as correctas the others.The next factors we discuss are usuallywhat informs the choice of whichof these correct options the translator chooses.Next, there's Context which normallycomes down to Audience.

Text written to the general publicis going to look differentthan text written to professionalsin a specific industry.For example, take the word "uvula",the little hanging flap of skinin the back of your mouth.In French there are two words"l'uvule" and "la louette"."L'uvule" is closer to the word in English,but it's used almost exclusivelyby medical professionals."La louette" on the other hand,is the word that most peoplewould use to talk about that part of the mouth.

So if your product were being translatedfor the average consumer,you'd probably use "la louette".Whereas if your product was destinedfor medical professionals,you might opt for "l'uvule".Next, there's Style.There are things beyond the literalmeaning of words to consider.Is the text funny or sarcastic?Is it instructional?Is it conversational?If you're looking to getan application's menus and interfaces translated,you want the terminology to matchthe interfaces of other applicationsthat your users are already familiar with.

If you have a game, and the character dialogueis supposed to be funny,that translation is going to take more effort.As a quick rule, if the text took a lot of talentto write well, it's going to take a lotof talent to translate well.Fourth, is Formality.You also need to think abouthow formal or casual the language is going to be.In some languages, a different formalitymeans that a translator will beusing different words entirely.

If you've ever read Shakespeare,you'll probably remember words like "thou","thee", and "thine".English used to make more of a differencewhen "thou" and "you" were both used.You wouldn't want to use the wrong onewhen speaking to the King though.In many languages, these distinctions still exist.And some languages actuallyhave multiple levels of formality.If your application is being usedin a professional context,you need to make sure that your translatorsare using the appropriate level of formality.

And the last concern I want totell you about is Space.For most applications,and for smartphone applications in particular,space is at a premium.Sometimes a translator has to trim downthe most accurate translationso that it fits the target size.There are other factors as well,but I hope you're starting to get the idea.In the end, you want a translatorwho is going to take the timeto research the difficult words,adopt the most appropriate style,and produce a translation that's goingto feel natural to users of your product.

You want a translator who can help youwalk that subtle line between being politeand being too formal and distant.And the biggest part of that equationis making sure that the tranlatorshave all of the information they needto make an educated decision.As we've already discussed,many localization systems support adding contextfor each entry to be translated.But you need to know that no matterhow much context you add,it's not going to cover 100% of the questionsthat translators will have.

Plan on your translators asking additional questions.This isn't a sign that they aren't very goodor that they don't understand English very well.I've seen this be a source of somevery sore misunderstandings.The simple fact of the matter isa good translation is going to requiremore information than you might think.So don't be surprised, or worse, hostilewhen you get questions from your translators.If you're getting questions,it's normally a sign that your translatoractually cares about your projectand wants to make sure thatthey're communicating what you intended.

Sometimes the translator will needto get additional clarity on the tone of voiceyou're shooting for when thingsin the original source text aren't consistent.And sometimes the language itself is goingto raise questions.For example, some languages have distinctionsthat just don't exist in English.Many languages have separate wordswhere English only has one.For example, for the uncle who'syour mother's brother and the uncle who'syour father's brother.There are a lot of other reasonsthat translators might need to ask you questions.

But even with a giant list,there will still be questions that arisethat you just can't plan on.Because so many people don't understandthis principle, you want to take the timeto let your translators know that you understandthat questions are going to come upthat you didn't anticipate when youprepared everything for them.And beyond that, you're happyto answer questions as they arise.You should let them knowwho the best point of contact isand what the best methodfor communicating those questions is.

One last point I want to mention isthat you should probably work withat least two translators per language.Typically, this follows one of two structures.Either you have one translator hired to translateand another hired to edit that translationand to check it over,or with larger projects, especially,you might have a team of several translatorscontributing translations,and a lead translator whose job it isto review all of the suggested translationsand to give them their stamp of approval.

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Released

2/13/2015

Localization is more than translation; localizing software also requires research, sensitivity to local standards, and UI adaptations. These localization tips and techniques will help you adapt your applications to foreign markets and prep new products for international release. Author Dennis Meyer reviews common challenges developers encounter when internationalizing content (both text and media) and interfaces, and explores options when it comes to translation, including machine translation, translation memory, and crowdsourcing. Plus, learn how to adapt your quality-assurance strategy for different locales and platforms.